UFC on FOX 7 draws reported 13,506 attendance for $1.333 million live gate

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Saturday night’s UFC on FOX 7 event drew an announced attendance of 13,506 and a live gate of $1.333 million.

UFC President Dana White announced the figures at the night’s post-event news conference, which MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) attended.

UFC on FOX 7 took place at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and featured a lightweight title fight between champion Benson Henderson and former Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez in the FOX-televised headliner. Henderson retained his title with a close split-decision win over Melendez.

The California State Athletic Commission will verify the figures and is expected to release an official tally next week.

Also on the FOX-televised main card, Daniel Cormier won his UFC debut with a win over former champ Frank Mir; Josh Thomson returned to the UFC after nine years away and knocked out former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz; and Matt Brown stopped Jordan Mein in the second round. Brown and Mein won “Fight of the Night” honors, while Thomson won one of two “Knockout of the Night” awards, the other of which went to newcomer Yoel Romero in the night’s first fight.

While the number of “comp” or free tickets was not revealed, the figures represent an average revenue of $98.70 per ticket issued.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.